Chapter 9

Nine

Kaida walked through the market district on Enzo’s arm with a giant smile on her face. Enzo wanted to come here just to spend time with his people and thought that Kaida should join him. This was her chance to mingle with the people of their kingdom and build relationships with the shop owners. Enzo felt that it was necessary for the royals to do this and made sure everything that was bought or served inside of the castle came from a local shop. When Kaida asked why he felt this was important, the answer made her heart break.

“My parents didn’t do this enough, in my opinion. Most of everything came from the territories of the five families. Let’s say our building materials for instance, over eighty percent of what we use has come from your territory, meaning the rocks that are ground down to make the caulking in between all the stones. There is someone from your territory that has his own shop here, and he sells different versions of it. Instead of my family looking into what that shop owner has to offer, they just went straight to your family and settled on how much they mine every year from the mountains in the territory.” The fire in his tone told Kaida he was passionate about this.

“I didn’t know that,” Kaida whispered in response.

“No one does! That man has a large chunk of land with various different rocks that he grinds down himself, yet no one really uses it. Granted, it’s more for the home projects than overall buildings, but still. We should be making sure all of our people are living comfortably, which also means if they are a business owner, they are receiving business from us!”

“I didn’t even realize that someone from the different territories could have more to offer than those who control the area and make money off it. I didn’t realize there were different types of rock either, but I’m not someone who ventures into the woods very often.”

Enzo cocked his head as he glanced at her, “Even when your dragon needs to stretch out her wings?”

Kaida quickly recovered by telling a lie, “Well, when she is out, I’m kind of taking a step back and letting her do her thing.”

Enzo made a face as if he understood what she meant and kept on walking. Many people stopped to talk to Enzo about something that they needed help with. Enzo took his time to hear each person out and then suggested something they could do. When it was something that was out of their control, Enzo would mention how he would send someone to help fix their problem.

There were a few shop owners that greeted Enzo with a big smile and a hug. Kaida was blown away at the relationships that Enzo had managed to build. It was not something she thought she would ever see from someone in the royal family. The only thing her parents have ever told her about the royals was how they seemed just like dragons in nature. Selfish, temperamental, and everything of value was theirs.

On the contrary, Enzo did not seem to be like his parents at all.

This made Kaida very happy, especially after her encounter with the king.

Enzo ended up buying a few sandwiches, some fruit, bottles of water from one of the shops, and some cookies from a bakery. Then they walked out of the market district area. Kaida had no idea that a short walk through a small, wooded area would lead to a beach. The water went on for miles ahead of her, and with the scent of the saltwater mixed with the cool air coming off the water, Kaida thought she had just found paradise.

She found herself walking to the water, taking off her shoes, and sticking her feet in it. The cold water brushing against her skin made her yelp since she didn’t expect it. Kaida had never seen the Gippsland Sea before and wished she had demanded to see it sooner. The blues of the water were dark and mysterious the further out she could see. When she noticed a tip of land on the horizon, Kaida wondered what it could be. After scouring her brain to think back on her geography lessons, she came up blank.

“What’s out there?”

“The Outcast Lands,” Enzo said in a flat tone.

Kaida looked back at him, “why do you sound annoyed by it?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “Something I don’t fully agree with. You know the history, right?"

"Well, yeah. Anyone the kingdom thinks has betrayed the throne or committed a crime to its people is sent there like a prison.”

“There’s more to it than that, but yeah.”

Kaida looked at him confused, “what do you mean?”

“It’s also where people send their rejected mates.”

It was so unheard of for someone to reject their mate that Kaida forgot about that detail. Any time she ever heard that some people had rejected the mate that the Great Dragon chose for them, it made Kaida’s head spin.

Who would anyone reject the person that was chosen FOR you?

“You don’t agree with that?” Kaida asked him, curiosity getting the better of her.

She hated that she constantly thought about the possibility of being rejected since her birthday. Kaida tried to leave it out of her mind when she was around Enzo, but the thoughts crept in regardless of her telling herself that he wouldn’t do it. But with Enzo mentioning it, she had to know.

Would he reject me?

“I don’t. The Great Dragon chooses the person that is most suited for you. For someone to reject that? It’s literally telling the Great Dragon that you don’t agree with what they think is best for you. How can someone think they know better than the being who looks over us all?”

Kaida nodded in agreement but couldn’t think of a way to respond. Enzo asked her what was wrong, and she couldn’t help herself.

“What if the person the Great Dragon chose for you doesn’t live up to your expectations? Maybe they are weaker than you always imagined them to be… or their dragon doesn’t cooperate like it should?”

Enzo smiled, “sounds like that person thinks they are better than everyone else and that they have no patience.”

Kaida smiled at her mate, “really?”

“Yeah, of course. Being given a mate is a blessing. Even if you think there is something with that person that needs work, that doesn’t mean you abandon them. It means you help them become stronger or tame the dragon.”

“This is true. A relationship will always take work.”

“Exactly!”

Kaida did her best to redirect the conversation to something else after that. She got the answer she was hoping for and, yet again, couldn’t believe the luck she had with her mate. Enzo was truly the perfect guy, and she couldn’t be luckier.

They sat down on the sand and ate their food. Enzo talked about his life growing up inside of the castle and even mentioned how he would always find himself down in the market district. That was why so many of the shop owners greeted him the way that they did. Enzo always shopped there, and they all looked out for him.

Kaida talked about her own childhood. There were times she would just spend indoors because she would rather play dress up than be outside. She also talked about how she and her parents were very close, and they were pretty much her best friends. Kaida talked about how her dad loved to tell goofy jokes, and her mom spent most of her time trying to make fun of her dad.

“Sounds like they are a good time to be around,” Enzo told her.

“They are. It’s like they are still teenagers. Growing up, I couldn’t wait to meet my fated mate because of them.”

Enzo grabbed hold of her hand and looked deep into her eyes, “am I living up to your standards?”

“More like blowing them to pieces. I still can’t believe you are my mate. It’s like a dream happening right now. Like I need to be pinched to believe that this is real.”

Enzo grabbed both of her hands and pulled her onto his lap. Before her mind caught up to what was happening, one of Enzo’s arms was wrapped around her back, and his free hand was gripped into her hair. Kaida forgot how soft his lips were until he pressed them against hers. Enzo wasted no time deepening the kiss as he turned her head sideways and pressed his tongue against her lips, begging for entrance. Kaida quickly gave in and moaned the moment that their tongues collided. Before she knew it, Kaida’s back was digging into the sand. Kaida felt Enzo’s weight on top of her, then his hardness pressed against her core. Kaida moaned as she felt his hips rock against hers, causing friction in exactly the right place. A growl escaped Enzo’s throat, and it made her wiggle against him and made her want more.

Enzo broke the kiss and put his hands on both sides of her head, the heat from his body being replaced by the cold air blowing off the water. Kaida whimpered at him, hoping he would continue what he started. Enzo chuckled at her and moved further off her until he was in a seated position.

“If I continue, I won’t stop. That’s not how I want our first time to go, especially since anyone can walk up here, and that’s just not something someone in my position should be caught doing.”

“Caught with your pants down with your mate? At least I am your mate and not just some chick. That would be a scandal, not what we were doing.”

“Yeah, I know, but still. I am to be king soon. I can’t have my people thinking they are just going to stumble upon me having sex out in the open. What kind of look will that have for me? My family??”

Kaida smiled at him, “The ‘I will get what I want when I want it’ look?”

“Very funny.”

She shrugged her shoulders at him, “I thought it was funny.”

Enzo looked out to the water for a moment. Kaida watched the air blow through his hair and loved how the sun brought out a lighter shade of gray in his eyes. She almost commented about it, but Enzo opened his mouth to say something first.

“I’m guessing you’ve never flown your dragon over water like this before, right?”

Kaida squirmed at the question, “No, I haven’t.”

“It’s a lot of fun. My dragon loves the water and dives into it. We should take our dragons out for a bit. Let them get to know one another.”

“I-I-uhm, I don’t think so. My dragon isn’t too keen on showing herself to many people yet.”

Enzo glanced at her with a weird expression, “But I am your mate. She should want to get to know me.”

“Please, don’t take offense. She doesn’t even like my parents. She is very temperamental and just doesn’t get along with others. It might just be best to let her come out on her terms.”

“I’ve never heard of a dragon being like that around her mate.”

Kaida bowed her head and shrugged her shoulders again. “I can’t force her. She has a mind of her own.”

Enzo nodded in agreement, but the look on his face seemed like a skeptical one. Kaida cheered when Enzo dropped the subject and mentioned going back to the castle for dinner. Their walk back to the market district was not as chatty as before. Kaida only hoped that Enzo wasn’t trying to pick apart her excuse and see it for the lie that it was. She had no idea if Enzo would be able to tell from their mate bond that her dragon didn’t exist, but she continued to silently pray to the Great Dragon that he wouldn’t find out.

Maybe after I bare his mark on my neck I will sit down with him and tell him everything. He even said it wasn’t a reason to reject a mate…